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Hannah McGill Named New Artistic Director

15:13 /

Wednesday 19 July, 2006

Edinburgh International Film Festival today named Hannah McGill as the Festival's new Artistic Director, replacing Shane Danielsen who will step down following the upcoming Festival, after five years ...

Edinburgh International Film Festival today named Hannah McGill as the Festival's new Artistic Director, replacing Shane Danielsen who will step down following the upcoming Festival, after five years in the position. Hannah will take up her post on September 1, 2006.

Announcing the appointment, EIFF Chair John McCormick said, "Hannah is passionate about film and will bring that passion to the post of Artistic Director of the EIFF. As a critic, she is well known for having a clear point of view and bringing fresh insights to her readers. Having advised on programming and presented screenings for the past five years, Hannah knows the Festival inside and out, making her the perfect choice for this position. She will now begin to stamp her own personality on the Festival beyond its 60th year."

The new Film Festival appointee commented, "I'm absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured to have been entrusted with this position by a festival for which I have so much respect. EIFF has a monumental artistic reputation, amazing staff, and the most engaged and intelligent film audiences I have ever come across. I can't imagine an organisation with which I would rather be involved. I hope that I can build upon the legacy of my predecessors, most recently Shane Danielsen, in honouring Edinburgh's unique history within British film culture, and consolidating its position as the UK's foremost showcase for exciting cinema from all over the world."

EIFF Managing Director Ginnie Atkinson said, "I am delighted that after an international search the Board have found the perfect person so close to home. All of the staff look forward to working with Hannah to fulfil her vision for the Film Festival into the future."

McGill has served as film critic and cinema columnist with The Herald newspaper in Scotland since 2001 and has been a programme consultant with the EIFF over that same time period. She has written and edited for numerous cinema publications and is known for radio, television and on-stage presentation. An acclaimed writer, Hannah has had short stories published by Canongate and broadcast on BBC. She was born in Shetland and attended Glasgow University where she gained a First Class degree in English Literature and Film and Television Studies.

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